Both Sides Now
by BlueStarGirl
Summary: When is a friendship not a friendship? Seth. Anna. Futurefic. One-shot.


Author: Kelsey  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When is a friendship not a friendship? Futurefic. One-shot.  
  
A/N: Ha! Found something I could post for "Angst-Free Ryan Week" at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OCfanfiction . He's not even in this fic!   
  
Both Sides Now  
  
Astronomy at Northwestern University was not a terribly popular course. Which, Seth realized meant only sixty students in the class. Only sixty. Seth was starting to understand life as an undergraduate at such a huge school, though it still boggled the mind.  
  
The Professor, a nerdy, aging guy who was the caricature of what an astronomy professor ought to be, was attempting to call roll. Ten minutes into it, he reached S.  
  
"Stern, Anna?" Seth turned to see who replied. What were the odds that he and Anna were at the same university, in the same class?  
  
"Present," A girl with dyed black hair, dressed in black replied. Okay, the odds weren't good, Seth considered, reconsidered and turned again.  
  
"Anna?" Seth inquired as she left the Planetarium. She turned.  
  
"Cohen," She replied emotionlessly as she looked him over.  
  
"You've changed," Seth observed stupidly.  
  
"Have I?" The question was rhetorical. "You certainly haven't."  
  
"Nope," Seth shrugged. "So where do you live? You like your roommate? What made you choose Northwestern? What other classes are you taking? How are your parents?"  
  
"Seth," Anna's voice was cold. "Try to understand something for me. We were sort of friends, once, for about six months, in high school. That's it. So forgive me if running into you a year and a half later doesn't make me want to tell you my life story."  
  
Seth watched in confusion as Anna walked away.  
  
Seth slipped into the seat next to her as class began. "Hello Anna."  
  
"Cohen," Anna pretended to be terribly busy in her backpack.  
  
"How's life?" Seth inquired.  
  
"What part of 'we aren't friends' did you not get?" Anna snapped.  
  
"Several parts actually," Seth replied. "But you say we aren't friends, fine. I see an interesting girl in my Astronomy class that I'd like to get to know."  
  
Anna was silent.  
  
"Hey Anna!" Seth caught up to her after class.  
  
"Seth. Leave. Me. Alone," Anna continued to walk.  
  
"Sorry to bother you, I just wondered if you understood the homework," Seth informed her.  
  
"Look at the stars. Make up your own constellation. Write about it. Not that hard Cohen." Anna muttered walking into the library. "Find a new study-buddy."  
  
"But why?" Seth asked. "When I've already got such a friendly and helpful one?"   
  
Anna growled and walked into a women's restroom.  
  
An hour and a half later Seth gave up and left.  
  
"Spot's saved," Anna muttered as Seth sat down next to her.  
  
"Anna, that's so sweet," Seth exclaimed. "You didn't have to save me a seat!"  
  
"I was saving it *from* you," Anna explained.  
  
"Ha, ha, and also, ha." Anna slowly turned to meet Seth's eyes.  
  
"I don't want to be friends with you Seth Cohen," she stated.  
  
"Nice," Seth commented. "How many times did you have to practice, before you could say it without your voice quavering?"  
  
"A couple of times a day, every day, since I left Newport," Anna told him candidly. "So, you do the math."  
  
Anna was smoking a cigarette under a tree outside the dining hall.  
  
"You smoke?" Seth was surprised.  
  
"No. The cigarette lit itself, jumped into my mouth and forced me to inhale," Anna blew smoke into Seth's face.  
  
"Listen, I was thinking about what you said the other day," Seth explained.  
  
"Which thing?" Anna asked. "For that matter, which day?"  
  
"Couple of things, couple of days," Seth explained sitting on the ground. Anna followed, reluctance evident in the motion. "What did I do to hurt you so badly?"  
  
Anna choked on her cigarette. "*Excuse* me?"  
  
"We were friends and then you left I e-mailed you, you ignored me. I called, you weren't home. We run into each other years later and you treat me like garbage-"  
  
"Yes, Seth. I know all of this," Anna interrupted.  
  
"So you admit we're friends?" Seth asked excitedly.  
  
"We were friends. Once. Briefly," Anna corrected. "What is your point?"  
  
"Anna, we have, had, everything in common. We listened to bands no one had ever heard of, read comic books, sailed boats-"  
  
"Still waiting for the point," Anna interrupted.  
  
"When did you decide to take a page from Summer's book?" Seth demanded, frustrated.   
  
"Point, Cohen?"  
  
"Forget taking a page, you stole the whole damn book Anna!" Seth was getting angry.  
  
"I'm a patient person Seth, but I'm really ready for you to make. Your. Point," Anna's suggestion was really more of a command.  
  
"I just want to know why you hate me," Seth explained. Anna stood up quickly.  
  
"If you honestly don't know then you're a bigger jack-ass than I thought," Anna began to walk away.  
  
"Anna wait!" Seth jumped up awkwardly and followed after her. "Give me a clue."  
  
Anna kept walking.  
  
"Okay, no clue. The last time we talked was at the airport. You said you loved me...Not as a friend?" Seth guessed.  
  
Anna stopped, and turned to face Seth.  
  
"You did say, and I quote, 'I love you. As a friend.' Did you not?" Seth demanded.  
  
"I told you what you wanted to hear. You didn't exactly return the favor," she cocked her head to the side. One of the first familiar gestures Seth had seen from Anna.  
  
"I..."  
  
"... was with Summer? Am a dense teenage boy? What? What's the excuse you're going to use?" Anna wondered. "I've been waiting to find out for two years, don't keep me in suspense."  
  
"I'm sorry Anna."  
  
Seth sat next to Anna in the Planetarium. Neither of them spoke.  
  
"Why is this weird?" Seth finally wondered. Anna turned to stare at him.  
  
"Why is this weird?" She repeated. "Of all of the stupid questions to ask, you definitely picked the stupidest."  
  
"Nice, Anna."  
  
"*I* don't have to be nice. *I'm* not the bad guy here," Anna pointed out.  
  
"And what? I am?" Seth asked.  
  
"Um, yeah," Anna rolled her eyes. "Actually you are."  
  
"Correct me if I'm wrong here, I tried to make friends with you-"  
  
"After I specifically asked you not to."  
  
"I tried to find out where I screwed up-"  
  
"Which, honestly, should have been pretty obvious."  
  
"And now I'm trying to make it up to you-"  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Will you stop interrupting?" Seth requested.  
  
"Since you asked so nicely," Anna smiled, "No. Probably not."  
  
"Look, I just... You know what? Forget it," Seth muttered.  
  
"Already have," Anna assured him.  
  
"Hey Anna?" Seth asked after a pause.  
  
"Yes Seth?"  
  
"Are you dating anybody?"  
  
"What?" Anna asked in disbelief.  
  
"Are you?" Seth pressed.  
  
"No," Anna paused and whispered, "I have trust issues."  
  
Seth tried, and failed, not to laugh.  
  
"No kidding!"  
  
"Out of curiosity, why did you ask?" Anna wondered.  
  
"I think we might have some of the chemistry we were missing before." 


End file.
